April 28, 2010 by Tom Brunson
While we were students in the extension program of Dallas Theological Seminary we were amazed at the number of engineers who (like me) found themselves drawn to deeper study of the Bible. (A number of the DTS professors also had engineering degrees first.) In discussing this we concluded that the Bible is the most logical book ever written, and engineers are trained to think logically, and so find the Bible intriguing. One of our professors noted that when engineers read the description of the Tabernacle they invariably want to build a model, because the Lord's instructions are so detailed.
Categories: Exodus |
April 22, 2010 by Tom Brunson
In Exodus 16 we read how the whole congregation of Israelites grumbled in the "Wilderness of Sin" about being brought there to starve. When we picture "wilderness" we may think of our country's history of unpopulated forests, and miss the picture.
Categories: Exodus |
April 21, 2010 by Tom Brunson
When the Israelites finally left Egypt they took with them treasures or "plunder" - but this was actually given them by the Egyptians. That strikes us as odd: that after all the plagues and trouble the Egyptians would so favor the Israelites. However, we see in Exodus 12:36 that the Lord had caused this, just as He said He would do in Exodus 3:21. Moreover, we see in Exodus 11:3, "Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people." While we don't dismiss the fact that God could cause this directly by changing people's hearts (as He still changes hearts today), we can also see that this may be a result of the power demonstrated by the Lord, and the lack of power the Egyptians found in their own gods.
Categories: Exodus |
April 17, 2010 by Tom Brunson
The Bible begins by calling God "Elohim" - a plural form of the name for the Creator God. This made it clear to the Israelites that their God was the all-powerful Creator. In Exodus God "returns" to the descendants of Israel to bring them out of Egypt, just as He had told Abraham some 400 years before. At this time He first identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so that Moses (and the Israelites) will understand that the same God who sent them to Egypt is now bringing them out.
Categories: Exodus |
April 16, 2010 by Tom Brunson
All Jewish tradition is that Exodus, like Genesis, was written by Moses during the Israelite wanderings before entering the Promised Land. Where Genesis explains the relationship between God and fallen mankind, and the reasons they were in Egypt for so long, Exodus explains how God brought them out of Egypt and formed a special relationship with them as His chosen people. (We'll see clearer statements about this in Deuteronomy.)
Categories: Exodus |
